Star Student of the Day

Kindergarten teacher Kimberly Laurance explains how she begins building community in her classroom by having first graders share about themselves. Through a process called “Star Student of the Day”, Kimberly leads students through an interview process that reinforces reading and writing skills while helping students learn about one another. In this video, we see one student, Isaraya, choose a cape and take a seat at the front of the classroom to prepare for the class interview. Students ask Isaraya questions and Kimberly writes down Isaraya’s answers, creating a “star student article.” The class chorally reads the star student article. Kimberly draws pictures above the words that aren’t as repetitive so students can remember what the words are. Isaraya then picks one sentence from the article and Kimberly writes the sentence on the board. The students copy the sentence onto their own papers and add pictures, building both their skills and their confidence. Kimberly explains how this activity helps students to feel successful as writers.